CHITRAL - Eminent Chitrali poet and literary figure Maula Nigah Nigah died after protracted illness here the other day. He was laid to rest in his ancestral village. Local people paid glowing tribute to Maula Nigah, saying that he was serving as a teacher of Khowar language in Chitral and hundreds of students learned the language from him. He served in different schools and promoted Khowar language and literature. Maula Nigah was the first poet to translate the work of famous Chitrali Sufi poet Muhammad Siar (Deewan-e-Siar) from Persian to Urdu language for better understanding of literature students. He made this translation in epic form which was greatly liked in the literary circles. This translation work is known as Sharh Deewan-e-Siar. Maula Nigah also wrote three books, two of which were published, while one remained unpublished. These books have been written in poetic form in the local Khowar language. It is said that Maula Nigah was suffering from lung disease and a surgery was performed on him at the KTH in Peshawar one and a half years ago. However, the surgery remained unsuccessful and he contracted cancer which took his life.

Maula Nigah was born in Tirich Mir area after which he shifted to Singor area of Chitral along with his family. He has left behind five sons, Prof Zahoorul Haq Danish, Mehboobul Haq (a school teacher), Ihsanul Haq (Patwari), Manzoorul Haq (school teacher) and Masoodul Haq.